Calcasieu Parish is Louisiana’s second largest parish with 1,094 square miles of land and roughly 190,000 residents. Calcasieu Parish is home to the city of Sulphur, the thirteenth largest city in Louisiana that was named after the chemical that was so heavily mined that it is responsible for the establishment of Calcasieu Parish in 1840.

Calcasieu Parish is home to many famous natives.  The first declared Republican member of the Louisiana State Senate, A.C. Clemons, is a Calcasieu native.  Owner of State Farm Insurance, Ronnie Johns, is also a native.  Martin Waldron, winner of the 1964 Pulitzer Prize for reporting on unchecked spending on the Florida Tumpike is also a native of Calcasieu.  Other famous names include Victor T. Stelly, Coleman Lindsey, Alvan Lafargue, Sam Houston Jones, Robert G. Jones, and Lether Frazar.

A number of talented lawyers who live in Calcasieu Parish are knowledgeable of local court procedures. Lawyers in Calcasieu Parish admit a wide variety of cases, some common examples are bankruptcy, divorce, medical malpractice, wrongful termination cases, as well as drafting wills and trusts.

Recently in the Louisiana Superior Court, the 2008 decision by Calcasieu Parish Judge Wilford Carter was overturned making it possible to be convicted of a felony, when the death penalty is not an option, by juries voting 10 to 2. Calcasieu Parish Judge Carter had previously ruled in two second degree murder cases that defendants were entitled to unanimous decisions. Cases when the death penalty is offered still require unanimous votes because it is not covered by Louisiana Article 782 of the Code of Criminal Procedure which dictates the number of jurors needed to convict for various offenses. Supreme Court Justice Traylor said that Judge Carter failed to take into account Louisiana and U.S. Supreme Court precedent which upholds the constitutionality of non-unanimous verdicts in state courts like Calcasieu Parish District Courts.

If you are going to court in Calcasieu Parish, you are likely to visit the Calcasieu Parish 14^th Judicial District Court. The district court level is the highest trial level court in Louisiana; they are responsible for adjudicating most cases in Calcasieu Parish and throughout Louisiana. District courts have jurisdiction over probate, estate, civil, felony, criminal appeals, and domestic relations cases. Some other courts with which you may need to file include Juvenile Court, City and Parish Courts, Justice of the Peace Courts, and Mayor’s Courts. Each court also has different divisions.

With so many courts and divisions with which to file, it’s best if you first consult a pre-screened bar certified Calcasieu Parish lawyer from LegalMatch. LegalMatch provides a client-lawyer pairing service that is free of charge. Getting started is easy, just select your case category and write a brief description of your legal issue. Don’t thumb through the phonebook; let the right Calcasieu Parish lawyer come to you through a company that guarantees your satisfaction.

For more information on Calcasieu Parish lawyers and courts, please see the links below: